Gulf nations may let some Qataris stay amid diplomatic rift

He warned that the Persian Gulf crisis is hindering US efforts to fight the Islamic State group.

-Qatar had provided financial support to the Muslim Brotherhood-led Morsi government in Egypt while Saudi Arabia supported the 2013 coup that overthrew Morsi. " The U.S. stance was a surprise as Qatar is its ally and hosts a major U.S. base". "At this stage, we note that there are numerous uncertainties regarding Qatar's response, the extent to which these measures will be imposed, and their longevity", said S&P Global Ratings.

Trump initially took sides with the Saudi-led group before apparently being nudged into a more even-handed approach when US defence officials renewed praise of Doha, mindful of the major usa military base hosted by Qatar that serves, in part, as a launchpad for strikes on Islamic State jihadists.

The three Gulf nations cut ties to Qatar on June 5 over its alleged support of militants and ties to Iran and ordered all Qataris out within 14 days, while calling their own citizens back. "Our expectation is that these countries will immediately take steps to de-escalate the situation and put forth a good-faith effort to resolve their grievances they have with each other".

Several Arab countries have accused Qatar of sponsoring terrorism, including al Qaeda's Syrian affiliate Nusra Front, Afghan terror group Taliban, and Hamas. "We ask Qatar and other nations in the region to do more and do it faster", said Trump.

The escalating crisis in the Persian Gulf erupted this week when Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain cut ties to Qatar, accusing the country of tolerating or even encouraging support for extremist groups, including al-Qaida's Syria branch.

The crisis broke out after Qatar's state news agency quoted its emir speaking positively about Iran, a key Shiite rival of Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia.

The President said he helped those countries make the decision to break off relations with Qatar during his trip to Saudi Arabia last month. It said it could not immediately respond to a request for comment on the hostage deal. Davis said the Defense Logistics Agency "is looking at a number of contingencies if the thing should come about, but at this point there's no impact on our operations".

Tillerson addressed criticism that the other Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia are also complicit when it comes to backing or fueling extremism. It also was a week of shifting impressions: "The veneer of Arab unity on display at the Riyadh Summit two weeks ago has given way to what remains a deeply fractured gulf region". He called for a "calm and thoughtful dialogue" to ease the crisis, which he said was causing food shortages, separation of families and loss of business in Qatar.

"The emir of Qatar has made progress in halting financial support and expelling terrorist elements from his country, but he must do more and he must do it more quickly", Tillerson said.

The growing Gulf crisis has also pulled the Kremlin and the White House into its orbit, as Moscow dismissed allegations that Russian hackers helped spark tension between Qatar and its former allies.